Everything that comes into being at
a given moment bears the qualities of the moment, and a company,
like an individual, has a birth chart. The planets in their signs,
houses and aspects reflect the same archetypal patterns as they do
within an individual, and operate according to the same psychological
laws, although obviously their expression in the outer world will
not be the same. So what kind of "person" is Astrodienst, and what
kinds of potentials might be awaiting expression in the future?

Here we see the paradox
of an airy entity powerfully focused on understanding and
delineating the hidden depths in life and in human nature.

This is an air-dominated chart, with the Sun in Libra trine an
Aquarius Ascendant and only one planet in water.

Astrodienst, 4 October 1983
04.00 PM, Zürich,
Switzerland

This combination befits a company whose function is to share new and
innovative ideas with the wider community through intellectual
and technological expertise. With the Sun in the 8th house, what
is shared, however, is the wealth of Pluto’s realm, for the natural
ruler of this house is Scorpio. This, too, is fitting, because
the ideas and themes which Astrodienst communicates utilise astrology
to explore the deeper levels and motivations of human nature. A
person born with the Sun in the 8th needs to consciously choose
the inner world as a realm of commitment and exploration; that
is their "destiny" or deepest motivation. The same applies to a
company, although the "motivation" is not attributable solely to
one individual’s choice, and has its own momentum and energy. Astrodienst
was also born under one of the great generational markers, the
Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1982-1983, and this emphasises the
need for delving into the depths - not only as a means of fulfilling
the company’s "purpose", but also as a means of survival. Saturn-Pluto
conjunctions, when they appear in an individual’s chart, often
reflect psychological interests and gifts, and it is not coincidental
that the first Jung Institute was founded in Zürich under an earlier
Saturn-Pluto conjunction. In Astrodienst’s birth chart, Saturn
is in Scorpio, Pluto’s sign, and Pluto is in its own natural house.
Here we see the paradox of an airy entity powerfully focused on
understanding and delineating the hidden depths in life and in
human nature. That is the core and primary life-theme of this birth
chart, and everything else orbits around it.

The language of Astrodienst
is a language not entirely acceptable to the outside world:
Chiron usually reflects difficulty in acceptance by the collective,
and its placement in Gemini underlines the fact that astrology
is a language not yet acknowledged by the larger collective
in which we live.

The 7th house - connected with relationships and the public -
is also strongly emphasised, and here we find a Venus-Mars conjunction
as well as a Moon-Mercury conjunction in Virgo. The 7th house focus
tells us that this entity is deeply involved in communication with
the public. Venus and Mars together suggest that this involvement
is expressed with passion and considerable emotional energy, arousing
both admiration and competition from the outside world. Mercury
and the Moon together in Mercury’s sign reflect precision and accuracy
in communicating ideas, as well as technological expertise and
a strong relationship between words and imagery. This admirably
suits any dissemination of astrological concepts as well as any
company which utilises the visual potentials of the internet. From
its inception, Astrodienst has always been involved in communicating
astrological images and ideas, and the fluency of the Moon-Mercury
conjunction in Mercury’s sign may also reflect the fact that the
company web site and its products are available in so many languages.
Interestingly, the Venus-Mars conjunction is square Chiron in Gemini
in the 3rd house. The language of Astrodienst is a language not
entirely acceptable to the outside world: Chiron usually reflects
difficulty in acceptance by the collective, and its placement in
Gemini underlines the fact that astrology is a language not yet
acknowledged by the larger collective in which we live. An individual
with such a configuration might feel pain or distress at this kind
of struggle to make ideas understandable. A company does not experience
such emotional reactions. But an individual’s pain might motivate
him or her to excel in communicating, and this same energy may
fuel Astrodienst’s constant efforts to improve and enhance, through
language and technology, the ideas which are being expressed.

Jupiter within 1º of
the MC also reflects the success of the company and its ability
to adapt to changing economic challenges according to the
time.

This powerful and angular Chiron in Gemini is also trine the Sun.
Chiron is the only planet below the horizon and is therefore a "singleton",
occupying a position of special importance and emphasis. The need
to articulate a complex and often misunderstood language - for
astrology is, after all, a language which expresses in symbolic
form archetypal patterns at work in human beings and in the whole
of life - has always been a source of enormous energy and inspiration
for the company, and it is one of the deepest "reasons" for Astrodienst’s
existence. Sun-Chiron aspects in an individual often describe the
need to heal, to contribute actively to alleviating some of the
unhappiness in the world; this is why so many Sun-Chiron people
work in the helping professions. The Sun also forms benign sextiles
to a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius, which is in the
9th house close to the MC. The important configuration of Sun-Chiron-Jupiter-Uranus
encapsulates the special "talents" of the company, in the same
way that solar aspects encapsulate the special "talents" of any
individual. Jupiter and Uranus together in Sagittarius, in the
house naturally ruled by that sign, emphasises the pursuit of meaning,
and also the expansion of the company into many languages and cultures.
It is an innovative, inspired and intuitive configuration, reflecting
a constant flow of new creative ideas and a refusal to be static
and "rest on its laurels". Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions historically
often reflect major scientific and technological advances; the
first landing on the Moon coincided exactly with an earlier Jupiter-Uranus
conjunction. Jupiter within 1º of the MC also reflects the success
of the company and its ability to adapt to changing economic challenges
according to the time.

The balance between the
airy and fiery emphasis and these earthy planets means that
dreams and ideals are put into solid form, and are balanced
with the ability to survive in a tough world.

Finally, we need to consider Neptune, also in Sagittarius, placed
right on the cusp of the 11th house and forming trines to both
Venus and Mars. The 11th house is the house of the collective itself,
and Neptune here describes great idealism and a longing to make
a constructive contribution to the group. Astrodienst has made
an enormous amount of information available free on the internet
for the benefit of the astrological community as a whole, perhaps
reflecting this intense idealism. Three planets in earth signs
in this birth chart mean that there is enough common sense and
practicality in this entity to recognise that idealism without
a reasonable relationship with the material world may be well-meaning
but does not guarantee continuing viability. The balance between
the airy and fiery emphasis and these earthy planets means that
dreams and ideals are put into solid form, and are balanced with
the ability to survive in a tough world. Although there will always
be some individuals who believe that they are entitled to everything
in life free, many more recognise that this company has been able
to ensure its survival while generously making an enormous amount
of information and support available to thousands of people without
cost.

Saturn’s tendency to
crystallise things in form seems to have reflected the physical
embodiment of the deeper purpose of the company.

Transits and progressions are as relevant to the chart of a company
as to the chart of an individual. They reflect the times when particular
innate patterns and qualities are ripe for expression in the outer
world. Whether these transits and progressions are "hard" (difficult
aspects) or "soft" (harmonious aspects), there is always an opportunity
for greater consciousness and the opening up of new levels of expression
for the natal planet. For example, when the first of the Astrodienst
computer-generated report - the Psychological Horoscope Analysis
- was launched in 1987, the progressed Sun moved into exact trine
with the natal Ascendant, reflecting a harmony or coming together
of the deeper "purpose" of the company (Sun) with how it expresses
itself to the outer world (Ascendant). This kind of progressed
aspect in an individual chart usually also reflects some new creative
expression which defines the person in the outer world’s eyes.
Also in 1987, transiting Saturn was aligned on the axis of the
Moon’s Nodes. These mysterious points are often associated with "fate" because
they represent the intersection points of the Sun’s and Moon’s
orbits: a combination of "destiny" (the Sun) and "embodiment" (the
Moon). Saturn’s tendency to crystallise things in form seems to
have reflected the physical embodiment of the deeper purpose of
the company, not surprisingly through a medium reflecting the Gemini-Sagittarius
axis: the communication of ideas related to meaning and spiritual
or philosophical concerns. When the Astrodienst web site was launched
in August 1996, transiting Saturn was in Aries, trine the company’s
Jupiter, Uranus and MC. There could be no better image of the crystallisation
of that Jupiter-Uranus impetus to disseminate knowledge in new
and inspired ways than this powerful transit. At the same time,
transiting Chiron and the transiting Moon’s north Node in Libra
were exactly on the company’s natal Sun. This triggered the natal
trine between Sun and Chiron and emphasised both the need and the
capability to communicate astrology’s language to a wider public.

Astrodienst was always "an
idea ahead of its time", but it would seem, from this glimpse
of what is coming in the chart, that the time may at last
be beginning to catch up with the idea.

So what lies ahead? In the progressed chart for 2003-2004 - Astrodienst’s
twentieth birthday year - progressed Mercury is exactly sextile
Neptune, suggesting new and imaginative forms of communication
(Mercury) which fulfil the ideal of contributing something helpful
and valuable to the community (Neptune in the 11th). This theme
is repeated by the progressed MC on natal Neptune and lining up
on progressed Neptune: Astrodienst’s role in the collective is
in some way coming to fruition in the public eye. Progressed Venus
and Mars are lining up with the company’s natal Moon in Virgo,
suggesting a greater emphasis on contact with the public (Moon
in the 7th) and perhaps a wider public profile - something which
might bring battles in some quarters (Mars) as well as appreciation
and respect (Venus). It may be that all this is connected with
new collective attitudes toward astrology. After all, Uranus has
just moved into Pisces after its 7-year sojourn in Aquarius, and
this suggests an emphasis on the creative imagination and on the
invisible dimensions of life. The last time Uranus went into Pisces,
the jazz era was born and some of the greatest literature in the
world was published in just seven short years. As Uranus changes
signs, our visions of progress also change, and the emphasis on
technology and "social engineering" so evident while it moved through
Aquarius is now likely to generate a powerful need to connect with
higher and deeper realms of existence. Such a collective shift
would involve not just Astrodienst, but the field of astrology
as a whole. The academic world has finally accepted astrology in
the United Kingdom, and postgraduate degree courses are now available
at British universities; this process is also occurring in the
USA and in the Netherlands. This may reflect a much wider acceptance
of astrology, and if so, Astrodienst is likely to be at the cutting
edge of such a change. Individuals born with the Sun in aspect
to outer planets are usually in tune with new ideas and visions
long before they become recognised and acceptable to collective
consciousness, and Astrodienst’s birth chart has the natal Sun
sextile Uranus and trine Chiron - both outer planets. Astrodienst
was always "an idea ahead of its time", but it would seem, from
this glimpse of what is coming in the chart, that the time may
at last be beginning to catch up with the idea.

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